No Mas Gasolina

So tonight Sarah and I went out to dinner with Alex, another teacher that lives here in the village, and Stephanie, a girl who works for the peace corp North of Chinandega.  It was really fun.  We went to a Middle Eastern restaurant.  It was muy, muy delicioso!  Although our waiter was not very good.  He brought me another drink that I never ordered.  He charged Alex for 3 drinks when she only had 2 and put in the wrong salad order for Stephanie.  She sent it back then he tried to charge her for both dishes.  It was very interesting but then came the big adventure.
What I haven't told you was this was our first experience taking a taxi in Nicaragua.  We got there perfectly.  They way back was a little more rough.  We got in a taxi and got him down to 20 Chords a person (about a dollar) to take us home.  However we only made it about a mile and all of a sudden he pulled over.  Alex and Stephanie started to ask him questions and then get out of the taxi.  I asked what happened and it turns out that the driver had run out of gas.  So he just kicked us out on the side of the road...never the way i thought my first ever taxi ride would go!  So armed with Stephanie's pepper spray we marched on along the street in Managua. We were about two blocks away when Alex hailed down a taxi for the road that I guess is not great to walk at night.  As we were stepping along the dirt paths toward the school I could only think that these are the kind of adventures i would not forget about Nicaragua. :)

I am currently watching Julie and Julia.  I am encouraged by watching Julia Child try to speak French :)  Sounds like my Spanish.
PS. If you weren't away Sue Sylvester in Julia Child's sister.

PPS. I just saw the first lizard since I've been here.  Sadly it was on the wall my apartment.  AH!  and Sarah is asleep so I had to withhold my scream and wake up my roommate tenancy.

No hablo Espanol

In other word...i don't speak Spanish!  Ah!  Sarah and I have been in Nicaragua for 3 days now.  It's definitely been and adventure of sorts.  I'll just walk you through the last 3 days.
*Note it's really long so I labeled the days and then did a brief overview at the end :)


Day 1-CRAZY scared, what am i doing here

The flights were perfect.  I really wasn't even nervous until we flew over Managua. We were worried about making out connecting flight in Houston but we got to the gate in time to go to the bathroom and have them check our passports and then load on time.

We went through customs which was a little confusing because again no Espanol.  We got to the greeting place and were met but 3 men that work at the school, none of which spoke English.  Sarah and I kind of freaked out because they just grabbed our bags and took off.  But we followed dodging traffic on the way out to the van.

This city and country is really poor.  I don't think I was ready for the poverty that is here and it came as a culture shock driving through the streets from the airport.  People stand in the middle of the road and sell things from water, to Disney towels, to juggling for money.  It's a whole new world down here and something were told we are going to have to get used to.

We arrived at our apartment wondering what in the world we got ourselves into!  Sarah and I both broke down for a while.  We had no internet so we went to the office so we could email our parents and maybe get some food.  Emailing was the hardest and i started crying but didn't want my parents to really know all that was going on with me.  We exchanged some money and went to the supermarket.

 We bought some food but then when we got back to make supper realized we have to have something to light our stoves and oven with...which we don't have any lighters or matches. So we had PB sandwiches. I brought PB in my suit case just in case this would happen. Their milk is SO weird...it came in a bag!  Yesterday we opened in an put it in our coffee pot...very interesting. 

We also came back to all of these ants of various sizes all over the aparment.  I went on a little ant masacre with my Deet bug spray.  Not sure if it did any good but it made me feel better. 

We do have air conditioning in our bedrooms, it's really loud! But so are birds and owls around our apartment.

We have a bathroom.  We don't have to go in the jungle luckily!  We can't put our TP down the toliet so we have to put it in the waste basket which is gross but I guess i'll get used to it.

We watched the Proposal before going to bed.  It was like a comfort activity.

Day 2- tour and stop crying day

Woke up and had internet.  Made our morning because we can now communicate with the outside world...and people who speak English.  I got emails from my parents which was so good.  I also bought some skype minutes so i can call anyone in the US from my computer, which is really awesome!  We also met a woman who works in admissions named Carola.  She is amazing and has been so helpful!  She was able to give us some really solid advice on what we are going to have to get used to in the culture and opened her office up to us as a place to talk which was a wonderful thing to have.  She even offered to take us out to La Galleria which is a mall and has lots of really good restaurants.  We also got a tour of the school which was BEAUTIFUL!  I think I'm really going to like teaching in this school. 
Sarah and I also decided that we might go to Granada this weekend which is about 45 km away and is a very colonial city in Nicaragua.  So update there later...in other words we'll see what actually happens.


Day 3- mall and pool day


Today was a great day.  Took my time getting up today...a read a little and just kind of lounged around.  When we got up we decided to see if we could go the Metrocentro which is a near by mall.  We decided it would give a break from our mac and cheese and we could get a cell phone...haha
Getting a cell phone was hilarious.  I have decided my way of dealing with not being able to communicate is to just laugh.  I feel so stupid and embarrassed not knowing the language that I have developed this nervous laughter.  So I laughed all the way through our attempt a buying a phone...we talked to him for about half and hour and ended up not buying any minutes just buying the phone.  WHoops!  The only reason we were able to make this discovery is that WE MET SOME NEIGHBORS!  
I left our doors open in hope that someone might come by and sure enough tonight around 5:30 three girls came to our door.  It was wonderful to meet them.  One of the girls was just visiting, one of the girls is an eighth grade teacher and the other girl is with the peace corps.  Alex is the girl that lives here and she was able to give us great advice on how to use our phone, using taxi services, how to find the laundry and just be in Nicaragua.  I think we are going to hangout with them tomorrow.
Tonight we went to La Galleria con Carola.  It was so nice!  Nicer than any mall in Iowa, which was a bit of a shock.  She took us to dinner at an Italian restaurant.  Sarah and I have discovered our stomachs have shrunk since being here.  But it was so good and we learned a lot about Nicaragua: the government, the poverty, the issues with young people, pretty much lots of cultural information.  It was very interesting and Carol has been such a blessing!  
We also found out about this thing called VIP movies.  Be prepared for you world to be rocked....k?  You can go to specific movies that are in VIP theaters.  Here you have lounge chairs...aka lazy boys....and people bring you food.  I mean you have to order it but you can get sushi and wine and pretty much anything you would like.  We asked her how much it cost.  She told us double...Oh ok...how much does a regular movie cost.  "Oh around 3 dollars."  HAHA!  we can have VIP service for under the price we pay at home to go the the movies!  LOVE IT! :)  Sarah and I decide we definitely have to try that out! :)


I know it is super long so her is the brief version:
It was hard getting used to all of the differences.  The first day was major culture shock, but it's just keeps going up and up.  We are meeting new people everyday and have begun to really enjoy it.

The near future

1 week worth of finals
2 weeks worth of normal undergrad classes
3 weeks left in Cedar Falls and until graduation
4 weeks until Christmas
5 weeks until Nicaragua
:) Senioritis kickin' in

Backpacking...a memory for sure

So this weekend I have the grand opportunity to go on a backpacking trip.  As some of you know I was super enthusiastic to join this backpacking class but as the trip approached and I learned of the forecast rain I quickly lost my grand ol' attitude.  The rain, however, was very least of my concerns.

Let's start at the beginning...

We go to the WRC and my group is riding in Shaggy's van.  Now Shaggy is in her late 50's early 60's, she has a tattoo under her right eye (which I found out this weekend she got a year ago to cover her gang tats), and when asked where she is from she will tell you no where, her family was traveling performers.  Ok so that just gives you a little taste of the driver of this vehicle. 

Well immediately our van of 5 got separated from the group....Shaggy forgot to get gas.  So we left late and we went about 20mph over the speed limit.  I thought Terrin was going to get car (or van in this case) sick.  The greatest part was that as we were speeding down the road another girl on the trip announced that she was not going to pay for a speeding ticket.  We were about 10 miles from the park when we watched as a state trooper did a Uturn and the lights went on.  He only gave us a warning but we were slowing down to stop so I think we just got really lucky...or I should say Shaggy got really lucky.

We got to the park finally and began hiking.  It was a good hike but we had to stop frequently.  Shaggy shared with us that she had 12 shots of Vodka the night before...made me feel even safer that I had just ridden in her car for two hours.  NOT.  It was also raining most of this time.  We only hiked for a few hours before setting up camp.  We quickly set up our tents and just had a waiting game.

We spent the afternoon attempting to play capture the flag in the forest.  Note to self: When there is a large present of thorns don't try running through them, it's usually not successful!  We also played some games, made lots of food, and asked some questions out of my professor's famous QUESTIONS BOOK.

Later that night...

We heard many ghost stories, some more believable than others, from some of the outdoor rec guys that worked at Camp Foster last summer.  Then Shaggy decided to tell her ghost stories....or stories in general...  [I know it seems like I may be picking on Shaggy, but really she is just such a character that if I were to ever write a book, she would be it's star] 

Shaggy story #1:
Shaggy moved into a house in Texas with her father.  She decided to take the attic room and that night saw a spirit of a man.  [this may be a good time to note that Shaggy is native American]  She told us that you can never see a face of a spirit but any way this man didn't like her much.  She tried to hold a seance but couldn't because he father kept falling asleep and therefore the whole circle never completed.  Her friends stopped wanting to come over so she moved out.

Shaggy story #2:
Her husband haunts her old house.  Her grandchildren have seen him.  She told us that she just ignores him, just like she did when he was alive.

Shaggy story #3:
[This is the one where began to think she was full of it or crazy] She can look into people's eyes and see things about them.  She told us about this time she was I think at the mall or something and looked into this man's eyes.  She saw he was going to be stabbed and told him he was going to stabbed on Halloween.  He said it was his birthday and he was going to a party.  She told him that he needed to take someone with him to save him.  Two weeks later...the man knocked on her door.  He wasn't wearing a shirt and had been stabbed.  He called her a witch...

Shaggy story #4:
[we were rolling by then end of this one...it was fun to see my professor's face...he was sitting behind her.]  She told us she can also make people do thing with her mind.  She used this power for bad things when she was younger.  [This next piece is my fav...]  She can also now tell what people are going to do.  Her example you ask?  She knew that the cop was going to pull her over.  At this point I just burst out laughing.  Terrin leaned over to me and whisper..."I could have told you that...she were going 85 in a 55!!!!"

After this we went to bed...or at least attempted to.

Sleeping didn't really happen: 1. We had built our tent on a curve...our heads were going down and so were out feet. BAD IDEA!  2. It was FREEZING!  3. Mummy sleeping bags are stupid.  When I was in high school I had a lot of trouble with my knees and now every time it rains they get really achy.  It's difficult to stretch that out when you are in a little mummy sleeping bag.

Overall it was a fun experience, with VERY interesting people and I would do it again, maybe build my tent somewhere else but you get the idea. :)

My Dad

Last night as I was driving home from Hy-Vee I all of a sudden realized how much I was like my Dad.  One of the things that used to drive me insane when I was younger was that my father can never take the same route to and from a location.  He always has to take one way there and a different way back.  He would call it "the scenic route."  I used to tell him I would never learn my way around because he always took different routes so I could never learn them.  What really got me last night was when I realize I always take one route to Hy-Vee (leave my apartment, got N. on South Main, turn on to University and then turn in at Valley Park Dr.) but for some reason I ALWAYS take a different way home from Hy-Vee (go out toward Boulder and take the back roads around to Orchard then go back North to my apartment.)  I know it is silly to find this amusing but as I got home and was telling my roommates how I'm like my dad I realized something else that I got from my father, the purpose of my going to Hy-Vee in fact.

If you have every watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding, you know that the father in that movie thinks that Windex will cure all things: every alignment, every cut, etc.  Well my family finds this hilarious because this is how we grew up thinking about Vicks.  If you don't know what Vicks is then first of all shame on you, but it's a vapor rub.  I remember my father sticking this stuff in my nose as a child and telling him it smelled and I didn't like it!  He was always assure me that if i wore it, in the morning I would feel so much better.  And here I sit, with a cold and a nose and chest covered in Vicks, which was my purpose of going to Hy-Vee at nine o'clock last night. 

I am proud to say that there are more things than just my ADD driving and cold remedies that are just like my dad, but these are just my recent realizations.  Love you Dad!

Last First week of School...as an undergrad student I guess

It seems like I have been in school for forever but at the same time no time at all...how can this be?  Well I will give you the big ideas of how my first week has gone.

I LOVE my apartment! My bed is lofted, which isn't my fav but I have lots of room and a futon to take naps on :)  I also get my own sink and only share a bathroom with my immediate roommate.  This doesn't seem big but when you are living with 10 other people it is!  I love having lots of roommates.  Today four of us went on a walk around Cedar Falls.  It was fun to get to talk to Farren, a roommate I just met, but absolutely love already! 

Ministry has been hard getting started.  First of all I feel really disconnected to campus since I am only here for a semester.  On Tuesday I just decided to tell God: Lord, I don't want to serve you right now, I don't feel like this is where I want to be, etc etc.  But lets get real, God always knows just what to say to encourage me.  It came from 2 Timothy 1:7 "He has not given you the spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and self-discipline."  Guess what the one who is in me is SWEET-power? Love? self-discipline? it is exactly what I need!  I am still struggling getting a bible study together but think my apartment is going to be a good starting place, today on our walk I talking to Farren about it and she is in.

Classes are going extremely well!  It's easily going to be my easiest semester since I was a freshman.  I love many of my classes, ok all but my Capstone and Methods of Science.  My Capstone is entertaining because my professor is a stick it to the man kinda guy, hilarious comments that are often inappropriate; The class however is about science terms that are way over my head and i can't pronounce.  Methods of Science is just plain boring.  I have decided to dedicate my time to working on my doodles and building relationships with the girls that sit at my table, possibly by writing notes.  Our professor reads off of a wordy PowerPoint that she posts online. 

My time with God has been awesome since coming to school!  I have these very awkward breaks in my school day that are like 2-3 hrs long so I just stay on campus, hemisphere lounge of the Union, and do my quiet times and some homework.  It's been awesome.  I am reading through Acts and I love it!  As I am about to embark on a new journey next semester it is really good for me to see how the first church is run and just their love and fellowship with each other.  It has also been sweet to see the faithfulness of God, in the end of Acts 2 it talks about how God gave them favor in the eyes of all people and was bring new believers into their group daily!  WOW! I am beginning to pray that for this not just of Navs but for this campus.  It makes me so excited to see what God has in store next!

Tuesday night was Nav night and it was flippin' AMAZING!  First of all we had to sit on the floor and stand in the back because there were so many people!!!!!!!  Worship was great with the packed house!  Kyle Nelsen did a great job of explaining what the Navigators is all about and laying out the gospel.  I am so excited to see how God is going to work through this ministry with him leading it!  Also as student leaders we are praying for over 100 students to sign up for Main Event this year.  We are going to take charter buses if we can get enough people to go!

Ok, last but not least I am reading a book/going through a bible study with the book Calm My Anxious Heart. It's so great!  I am learning so much from this amazingly wise woman!  I started reading it after I got really anxious about student teaching over the summer.  It has been so great to just let go and let God take over.  This weeks memory verse was Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."  WOW!  I have had this memorized for a long time but I haven't really meditated on it.  I have learned that we have a choice when we are tempted to anxiety a.We can become anxious and nervous and just a mess or b. We can pray!  Pray specifically for what we are tempted to be anxious about and pray for peace, which is God's part.  Our part is to pray.  God's part is to give us peace.  This has changed not only the way I have been dealing with my anxiety but also my prayer life. 
One of the activities I did this week was right out the positive and negative parts of my circumstances at this time of my life.  So i did this.  Then it asked which one do you dwell on...ok I had a TON more in my positive side yet much of my time is spent on the negative part.  Dang!  Philippians 4:9 says "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you."  It takes practice to give our anxieties to God.  It takes practice to pray specifically.  It takes practice to be thankful.  It takes practice to dwell on the positive.

So here are my thoughts, lessons and processings for the week.  Hope you enjoy! :)

I am the worst blogger in the world! - Prayer (week 5)

I have decided I am most definetly the worst blogger in the world...pretty much because I don't do it AT ALL! I just forget about it. I love reading others and then after I am done reading theirs I don't do my own. So here is an attempt as writing about what has gone on over the past month and a half.

1. Faith, Prayer, and promises week! (July 5-10)

This was a sweet week for me! I was just able to really look at my prayer life and first see how little my view of God is. It's amazing how closely linked these three things are. A highlight this week were actually from our bible study:

a. Are you not? Who have you discovered God to be?

Over the course of my life God has proven to be many things. He is a provider (meeting all of my needs according to his glorious riches Philippians 4:19), He is sovereign even when it seems like things are out of control, His is powerful, He is faithful. I could go on and on. Who have YOU discovered God to be?

b. Did you not? What has God done for you?

He let me discover his love! I became a believer because God revealed his peace to me. He provided me with a family. He loves me unconditionally. He has given me amazing friends who encourage me in my walk with the Lord.

c.Will you not? What are you believing God to do in and through you?

So what am I praying? I believe God will provide give men in exchange for my life Isaiah 43:4. I believe He will grant me wisdom when I ask and when I'm in need Proverbs 31:36. I believe He will guide me when I am lost and confused on what to do next Proverbs 3:5-6. I believe He will also protect me Psalm 32:7. I believe God will make me into the woman He desires me to be- Phil 1:6 & Gal 5:22-23

I was asked this summer by a friend what is my biggest fear. I told her being alone was my biggest fear. Even thinking about it makes my heart hurt. Promise I am claiming: "...and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:20 I hate being lonely, but Jesus promises us that He will be with us always, where ever we are: if we are in Jacksonville or Slater or Cedar Falls or Managua, Nicaragua; He is there with us! Praise God!

Ok I was going to do a summary of all the weeks but I'll do them in separate posts so it won't be overwhelming.

Fun things this week:

1. Group date with Troublemakers

The date ask is on facebook in two parts!  If you can take a look at the video-very creative

We went to a condo on the 18th floor, on the beach!  SO BEAUTIFUL!  Then the guys made us an amazing dinner and we played catch phrase.  My abs hurt so much from laughing after this 5 hour date!

Just ignore my blabbering about how awesome it is, just look for yourself and imagine you were actually there!

2. We dressed up as cows for "cow appreciation week"

This is my work groups: L to R-Me, Kayla, the cow, Jeff, and Emily!  Jeff was a little embaressed by us.  We stopped to get gas and Kayla was mooing out the window at other customers.  Jeff appoligized "Sorry for my friends."  Haha...too funny!

3. Sunrise Sunday morning before church!

Psalm 19:1

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.